The Tao of Game of Thrones

The Tao of Game of Thrones
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There's a frenzy running rampant in my household lately. It strikes every Sunday night and whenever there are sleepless hours due to toddler teething or upset tummies.

Like millions of others, I've been sucked into Game of Thrones.

Poison, passion, and politics make for thrilling television and while I'm completely engrossed in the lives of the Starks and Lannisters, I am more moved by the show's moments of true spiritual brilliance.

On last week's episode, Sam, a timid, chubby, reluctant ranger in the Night's Watch, is holding his post atop Castle Black with another lad. Sam has become notorious for killing a White Walker--an elusive, murderous, once thought mythical race that can reanimate the dead. While guarding the wall at Castle Black, the comrade asks Sam how he faced and defeated such a harrowing creature. Sam's response was simple: "If someone asked me my name, I wouldn't have known it. I wasn't Samwell Tarly anymore. I wasn't a steward the in the Night's Watch. I wasn't any of that. I was nothing at all. And when you're nothing at all, there's no reason to be afraid."

Too often we limit our authentic greatness by buying into the idea of impossibility in our lives. Unbeknownst to us, the impossibility resides only on the level of our identities. We must be willing to peel back the labels and become a blank canvas. In Sam's case, it was a White Walker. For some, it's a divorce, a financial crisis, or a cancer diagnosis. However, when you have the courage to become nothing-to live in a state of connection and present-moment awareness where you are not your heartbreak, your pain, your anger, your title, or any other story- you can actually transcend all the limitations encompassed in this construct you've come to believe is your identity. Only then are you free to live your truth, unleash your soul signature, and become the authentic expression you were born to be.

Inside all the backstabbing, and primal humanity depicted in Game Of Thrones, I found a profound piece of wisdom. When faced with our perceived impossibilities, it's best to let them wash over us and become nothing.

Be brave and slay your White Walker. Become nothing at all, because when you become nothing, you gain everything.

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